Tears of an Angel
by OrganizationX
Summary: In this world, people are blind, and therefore sometimes even Angels cry. Shuichi is attacked by drunk men because of his love. This causes Yuki to make a revelation and write a story.
1. Chapter 1

**Tears of an Angel**

_Organisation X_

_Disclaimer: Don't own Gravitation _

_Rating:_ T

_Summary:_ In this world people are sometimes blind to what is real love or worse just don't care. Shuichi is attacked because he love Yuki. This causes Yuki to make a revelation and write a book about it.

* * *

Shindou Shuichi was walking home from the studio one cloudy afternoon, chatting away on the phone to his band mate Nakano Hiroshi as if it had been a year since the two of them had seen each other, regardless of the fact that Shuichi had only just left Hiro's side fifteen minutes ago. 

"I am so happy with this next song, Hiro! I can't wait to see how it débuts!"

Shuichi stopped as Hiro answered him, "Hang on Hiro…the reception's gone bad…" Shuichi stepped off the edge of the walkway and out of the way of other pedestrians, "Nope, still not good…"

Shuichi wandered further to the right, not noticing he had stepped into a shadowy alleyway. "Oh that's better! Not so much noise either! What was that before? Oh! That's right! You're going to see Ayaka-chan over the weekend! Aww, you two are so cute…no I will not shut up…anyway, I'd better go…I have to get back home to Yuki! I love him so much," Shuichi giggled, "Hiro! Don't roll your eyes at me! Yes you did…I can feel it! Ok, I'm going now, see you next week!"

Shuichi hung up his phone call and placed the cell back into his pocket.

Further down the alleyway were a trio of men, drinking their misfortunes and malcontent for the world around them away. "Oi…there's that Bad Luck fag," said Kaito, a tall, skinny man, pointing as he finished off another can of a cheap beer.

A shorter man of similar physique sneered, "Disgusting. Fags should be locked up for medical experiments, don't you agree Jun?"

A short, stocky man who was standing further in shadow replied, "You know my woman is crazed over those two fags? The fucking bitch gets all starry-eyed whenever either of them is on the fucking television." Jun took a swig from his dented can, "It makes me sick. It's not natural Yujiro."

Yujiro stood up with an evil grin on his face, "You know, that fag just stepped onto our patch. Shouldn't we do something about that?"

Kaito and Jun wore identical grins and moved out of the shadows, starting for Shuichi.

Shuichi had just taken one step back in the direction of the main street when he was grabbed from behind by strong arms, a hand coming down over his mouth before he could scream for help. As he was dragged deeper into the alleyway and out of any passer-by's vision, he tried to kick and squirm out of the firm grip with no success, and a sharp twinge went through his ankle as he stumbled against his attacker.

A slim man stepped into his line of sight with a look on his face that could shame the Devil himself. Shuichi was terrified, and tears started flowing as flashes of Aizawa Taki and his rape flooded his memory.

"Oi, oi, oi, you need to calm down there boy," taunted Yujiro, "You see, you stumbled on our patch, and we don't exactly like faggots around here. So, the three of us here came to the conclusion that you need to be taught some manners." Yujiro stepped closer and grabbed Shuichi's hair in his fist.

Shuichi cried out as his hair was pulled viciously. He was screaming inside, his mind doing cartwheels as to what might happen to him. Was he going to be raped again, or even killed? Was he going to get kidnapped and held at ransom? Would he ever see Yuki again? Shuichi started to struggle even more when he felt a blunt object against his stomach, the shock slowly wearing off only to be replaced by the throbbing pain of being punched.

The hand covering his mouth loosened its hold, allowing Shuichi a moment to bite into the chubby flesh, earning himself a rough backhand from the man in front of him, silencing any scream he might have built up.

Jun stepped back clutching his hand, "You little fucker! I'm gonna get you for that you dirty fag!"

Part of Shuichi regretted taking self-defensive action, but another part of him didn't, even when he was thrown onto the dirty ground and kicked in his already injured stomach. He managed to knock the tallest one to the ground by pushing his feet out from under him, but he was rewarded with several kicks to his ribs. Shuichi hacked as he tried to take air into his burning body, finally just lying still as the pain overtook him and his vision started to blur.

As Shuichi lay there with one arm wrapped around his bruising stomach, he heard one of them spit before declaring, "You fags should all have your cocks ripped off!"

Shuichi barely felt the spit land on his cheek and let unconsciousness take him as he listened to footsteps getting further and further away.

The darkness had completely taken him long before his mobile phone started ringing, 'Yuki-koi' showing as the caller's ID.

* * *

It was getting late. The night had fallen a little while ago, but Shuichi hadn't returned home. "I'll be back at about 8 tonight, so don't forget to make dinner!" the boy had said to him before leaving for NG earlier this morning. Now it was past 11 p.m. and there was still no sign of the boy. Although he would never admit it aloud, and certainly not in front of his little lover, the cold-hearted bastard that was Yuki Eiri was seriously worried. 

It wasn't the first time the singer had been late, like when his crazy manager hadn't let him leave until they'd finished recording their latest song, or when he'd wanted to go out with Nakano Hiro...but Shuichi always phoned to tell him, especially when he knew Eiri would make dinner for both of them, and when they were going to spend some time together.

Still in front of his laptop's screen, the blond closed his hazel eyes, trying to suppress his up-coming headache. How was he supposed to find some stability in his life, as his psychiatrist had asked him to, if he couldn't rely on the person who was supposed to give said stability? _And the brat made me cook dinner! I've waited long enough for him to come home, the food is cold...I won't wait any longer. Does he want to starve me to death? _the writer thought, standing up from his comfortable swivel chair to go into the kitchen.

Once there, he began to prepare himself a plate that he could warm up in the microwave. The more he tried not to think about how late Shuichi was, the more he actually thought about it. He put his pride aside to call his boyfriend, but nobody answered. _Shuichi always answers me. _His worrying finally getting the better of him, he left the half-full plate on the kitchen table and went back into the living room to try and call Shuichi one more time.

"That's not normal. The brat is so clingy, he should've picked up his phone as soon as the ID told him it was me," he murmured to himself as began to dial the boy's number again.

But before he could finish, the phone buzzed in his hand. He started, glad nobody was there to catch him frightened by the stupid machine. He took a deep breath to help himself calm down before answering.

"Hello?" he asked coldly.

"Eiri-san? It's Tohma."

"Not right now, Seguchi. I'm not in the mood to deal with whatever my father and my sister asked you to-"

"I'm not calling about your sister or father, Eiri-san," the synth-player cut him off. "Actually it's about Shindou-san."

And there was the magic word that earned Tohma all the novelist's attention. NG's president guessed, by his brother-in-law's silence, that he was allowed to speak.

"The police called me a few minutes ago to tell me that Shindou-san has been attacked on his way back home. He was found by some passer-by. I was told he was fine but, knowing Shindou-san's stubbornness, I think he might be hiding some injuries, so we should go there and-"

Eiri stood in shock at Tohma's words, 'Shindou-san's been attacked' replaying over and over again like a broken record before he recovered and cut his brother-in-law off, "There's no need for you to go. I'll go alone."

"Wait a min-"

Eiri didn't wait for Seguchi to say anything. He immediately picked up his keys and wallet, put on his shoes and coat, and then left. It didn't take him too long to arrive at Tokyo's police headquarters, and as soon as he got into the high building, he began to look for his lover.

* * *

At first, when he asked for Shuichi at the reception desk, the man in charge kept saying it was confidential. Of course, dealing with a famous rock star's attack, the police didn't want suspicious people or, even worse - the media, to poke their nose into the affair. The guy didn't trust him when he said he was Yuki Eiri, Shuichi's lover. Being met with such stupidity made the author angry, and he was forced to remove the black glasses he always wore to hide from fans and the paparazzi to prove he really was Yuki Eiri. Then, once he had shown them his beautiful, well-known face, he caught the attention the police hadn't wanted. At least now, this fucking receptionist was forced to lead him to Shuichi and the cop in charge of the affair. 

At long last, he found his little lover in one of the inspectors' offices, making his statement against the attackers. Through the closed door's pane, Eiri could see the boy. He looked so pale the writer could swear he was about to faint, and so he knocked on the door, and opened it, informing the singer and the inspector of his presence.

"I'm sorry, it's a private interview," the cop said blankly.

"I know," the blond simply replied, before coming in and closing the door behind him.

"Yuki," Shuichi whispered.

By the tone of his voice, anyone could hear the boy was half-relieved, half-surprised to see his lover there. _How did Yuki know I was here? Moreover, why did he even come? _he wondered.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the inspector insisted, standing up with a harsh glower on his face.

"I'm taking Shuichi home," Yuki answered, matching the inspector's glare.

"Then wait outside until I've finished with-"

"Please, Inspector Takigawa, let Yuki stay with me," Shuichi asked. "He's my...my boyfriend."

The cop, obviously called Takigawa, frowned slightly at the novelist, although he did sit back down onto his chair.

"Fine then, if Shindou-san wants you to stay... Anyway, we're nearly finished. I'm going to print the documents, then all that you'll need to do is sign them."

The inspector quickly typed something into his computer before standing up again. He excused himself and left the two lovers alone.

Neither of them dared to break the silence. It ended up becoming quite uncomfortable, so Shuichi asked, "How did you know?"

"Seguchi called me."

Another silence. Eiri couldn't stand it anymore.

"What happened?"

Lowering his head to look at his knees as if they were more interesting than his lover's question, the singer kept silent, not daring to tell his Yuki how bad those bastards had hurt him, and how he'd failed miserably to defend himself.

"Shuichi," the writer growled. He was more than a little angry since he'd spent this fucking evening waiting and worrying for his partner, then arguing with idiots about his rights to see Shuichi. He really wasn't in the mood to face the boy's stubborn silence.

"For the second and last time, what happened, brat?!" he asked, more coldly.

Seeing how his harsh tone had startled his younger lover, Yuki regretted the way he'd insisted. It was obvious that Shuichi was still in shock, which was normal. He had just been victim of..._Of what? I still need to know what those bastards did to him!_ And he immediately remembered what had happened the last time someone had hurt his Shuichi. Images of Taki Aizawa and the scumbags who had raped his lover flashed across his mind. He clenched his fists in anger. He could not bear it if his boyfriend had been raped again.

"Shuichi, tell me. I need to know what they did to you."

"It doesn't matter, Yuki. Don't worry about it," the singer answered with a weak voice and a fake smile.

Eiri came up to his lover and crouched down in front of him. Now that they were at eye level, Eiri noticed how bad the singer was at hiding his feelings. His eyes were like open windows to his heart.

"It _does _matter, because if those...those bastards dared to...touch you, _again_, I swear I'll kill them."

Shuichi's pain-filled eyes brightened slightly at the mere thought that Yuki really cared for him. _It doesn't matter if he's just being possessive, _the pink-haired man thought, _it's enough for me._

"I told you there was nothing to worry about, Yuki. They just beat me up. I ended up fainting after they left me in that alley. I'm sorry, Yuki."

"Don't apologize," the writer said, standing up.

He took Shuichi's hands, silently asking him to stand up as well, then simply pressed the boy's body against his, the novelist's right arm wrapped around Shuichi's slender waist. Yuki expected the boy to cry and snuggle up against him, moving into the embrace by putting his arms around Yuki as well, but Shuichi did nothing except whine as if in pain.

The blond frowned and looked at the young man with a questioning look in his eyes. Then he noticed the way that Shuichi was holding his ribcage with his right hand. He was about to ask him about his injuries, when the inspector came back.

"I'm taking you to the hospital as soon as we're done with this police report," he whispered in his lover's ear.

They didn't have to wait too much longer. Like inspector Takigawa had told them, all that was left was for Shuichi to sign the papers, and then the two lovers left the building.

* * *

As soon as they entered Yuki's car, Shuichi murmured, "Yuki...There's no need to go to the hospital, you know. I'm fine, really." 

"Stop it."

"W-What?" the singer asked, with a weak smile.

"Stop acting dumb, you idiot," the novelist answered, switching the ignition on.

Shuichi giggled softly, earning a questioning look from his boyfriend, "You're the one who always says I'm dumb or an idiot or whatever. It's hard for me to _not _act like one, now."

"Baka."

"Yuki, please. I really don't-"

"Shut up and do as I say," Yuki cut in. "If I want you to see a doctor then there's no avoiding it."

With that, Shuichi simply kept silent, obeying his beloved Yuki's orders as they drove in the direction of the hospital.

* * *

'_He's so light…so small in my arms…'_ Yuki looked down at his small lover, sleeping silently in his arms. The apartment lay still around them, the only sound being the echoing of the clock ticking away in the corner. 

'_How can he stand it… being so small…'_ Yuki thought, gently brushing back Shuichi's pink hair, tensing as his lover shifted on the large couch that ordained the corner of the apartment, then relaxing as Shuichi fell silent again, once more finding a comfortable position. _'I'm a coward. I run away from everything. I push away everything. Outwardly, I seem so strong, so 'big' and 'strong', but in reality, I'm nothing compared to him.'_

The silence continued. Yuki's hand hesitantly hovered over Shuichi, in an attempt to find a safe place to touch him that wouldn't frighten or hurt him.

'_Again,'_ He thought, scoffing slightly _'Again this happened. Again he's hurt. Because he's with me. Because he's with me, he is broken constantly. That bright smile is constantly wiped off his face. Constantly those pink cheeks are marred with tears…'_

Yuki allowed his eyes to close, fighting back the tears that welled in them. _'Will they ever accept us?'_ Yuki thought, taking in a shaky breath _'Will they ever let me love him, let us live in peace? Is this Kitazawa's vengeance? Has he cursed me in some way, so that to repay for his death, everyone I love, everyone I touch, ends up hurt? So that I begin to fear to love? Begin to fear everything and everyone so much that I just push them all away from me and put on the mask of a cold and heartless bastard?' _

Resisting the urge to kiss his baka, Yuki softly murmured, "Sorry…"

"For what?"

Both men tensed.

'_I couldn't resist. Me and my big mouth.' _Shuichi opened his eyes, turning so he lay on his back, his face looking up at Yuki _'But when I heard his voice… when I heard his __**apology**__…when I heard the sorrow, the pain and regret return to his voice…I just had to speak.'_

"You were awake?"

Shuichi stared blankly into Yuki's amber eyes and nodded. There was a silence.

'_Why are you crying, Yuki?'_

"What are you sorry for?"

There was another pause. The clock kept ticking.

"Everything."

Needing no further explanation, Shuichi fell silent.

"It'll never end…will it?" Yuki continued.

Shuichi shrugged, "We can only hope," he said, gently.

"How do you do this?" Yuki began.

"Do what?"

"How do you…go on?"

Shuichi paused for a moment, searching for the right words to say, "Because," he began, reaching up to touch his love, "I get to see you."

Yuki fought the smile coming to his lips, then tensed as he felt Shuichi wipe away his tears.

"It's…"

"It'll be alright," Shuichi began, tears forming again in his, "It'll all-"

But before he could finish, Yuki's lips crushed down on his.

* * *

Shuichi shifted to a much better position as he rubbed his aching muscles. During the past few days since the accident had happened, he developed a habit of massaging his legs and waist with his numb hand. He wanted Yuki to do it for him, even just a minute for the blond to travel his warm hands down his back. But he didn't dare ask Yuki for it. He didn't want to bother his lover who had yet another deadline coming up. 

He moaned softly as he rubbed ointment onto his bruised ankle.

"Ouch," he muttered grumpily and accidentally dropped the bottle of ointment onto the cold floor. Yet, even as it clanked loudly, it didn't compare to the sound that was coming from the study area, where the constant click-clacking of Eiri's keyboard could be heard.

Shuichi sighed and got a cloth to wipe up the spilled ointment from the floor. As he was doing so, the doorbell rang.

"About time." He abandoned the cloth and walked slowly to the door to open it.

"Who is it?" He asked in a sing-song voice and peeked through the gap. He knew very well who was behind it.

"Shu, it's me," came the familiar reply.

"Hiro!" Shuichi flung himself onto his best friend, almost like a koala hugging a tree.

"Shu-i-chi. Stop it… can't breathe," Hiro mumbled and eventually the singer loosened his hold.

They both entered the apartment and the spilled ointment caught Hiro's eye. He looked at it, then to Shuichi, and then back again. He sighed.

"You want something to drink, Hiro?" Shuichi asked.

Hiro looked at the vocalist and almost gasped when he saw the large pale green-blue bruise that was covering Shuichi's left cheek. Aside from that, the corner of his mouth was cut, his eyes had lost its usual bright glaze, and his whole body was covered with scratches, stitches and wounds. Shuichi, who realised that Hiro was studying his body, shuffled his feet and began looking at the floor.

"Are you sure you're taking care of yourself Shuichi? If you aren't, you can always go to my apartment..."

"I can take care of myself!" Shuichi defended, "and Yuki's here to take…" He wanted to say 'care', but he was sure that Hiro wasn't stupid enough to not notice that Yuki was indeed lacking care, and also love.

There was a complete silence between them, only to be broken by the creaking sound of an opening door. Shuichi tensed up.

The writer emerged from his study area, eyebrows knotted as he stepped out of his dark hideout. He took a quick glance at Shuichi and then to Hiro before he went into the kitchen without a word.

A light of hope flared quickly on Shuichi's eyes as Yuki glanced at him, and quickly it went gone as Yuki didn't seem to utter even a grunt. His sad face became gloomier, and that was when Hiro felt a burning sensation in his stomach. He followed the writer into the kitchen, made him turn to face him and punched him in the stomach without a word.

_Crash!_

"Hiro!" Shuichi screamed as he ran to Yuki's side. Yuki was clutching his stomach and glaring at the guitarist. "Why did you do that?" Shuichi screamed again. The cup of coffee that the writer was supposed to be drinking had crashed to the floor, spilling the drink everywhere.

Yuki pushed Shuichi aside and aimed a punch at Hiro's face, which the latter dodged, before receiving a kick to the stomach instead. Hiro growled in pain.

"Yuki!" Shuichi shouted, and stood between them, attempting to stop the fight.

"The nerve," Yuki said in a cool and daring voice. "You're inside my house, Nakano Hiroshi. And you wouldn't stand a chance to defeat me."

Hiro held his stomach tightly and coughed. He felt as if his breathing was stopped for a minute. _Damn it. I can't stand up._

Shuichi was trembling as he watched the two in horror, afraid of what might happen next. Hiro, mustering his courage and strength, gripped onto a nearby counter and glared at Yuki.

"You worthless piece of scum," he said and tried to stand up despite his weak knees. Shuichi supported Hiro on the arms and whispered, "Hiro, stop it!"

Hiro just shouted more, "You fucking bastard!"

Shuichi was at the verge of tears.

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything," he said in a mocking voice.

Hiro gave a sarcastic laugh, "That's exactly the point! You don't do anything! Every time something bad happens to Shuichi – every time he's in danger," Hiro managed to stand and advance towards Yuki. He pushed the blond back with every word he was saying, "every time he begs for your love – you aren't there! You don't do anything. You're a worthless pile of rubbish YUKI EIRI!"

Shuichi cried this time, torn between wanting to stop Hiro and wanting to agree with him. He stood in front of Yuki trying to block Hiro's hands. "Hiro – Hiro, please," he almost whimpered and looked frightfully at Hiro's eyes.

Yuki fell silent. Apparently, he was digesting every word that Hiro said. He looked at the trembling boy in front of him. Shuichi's hands were gripping his arms to stop him from punching Hiro more, and he noticed too that a new reddish patch was forming on Shuichi's knees that maybe he'd acquired as Yuki had pushed him onto the floor earlier. He gulped, but retained his cool, annoyed look. Shuichi gave him the equal look of fright that he gave Hiro. He looked away.

Hiro on the other hand, brushed his clothes down with his hand. He bit his lip for not controlling his anger. He glanced nervously at Yuki and then to Shuichi and muttered a silent "I'm sorry."

Yuki glared at the redhead, not because they'd had a fight seconds ago, but because of the fact that he'd shoved into his face the reality that he was not at all a very good and caring boyfriend to Shuichi. He wanted to say sorry too, to Shuichi, but his pride was eating his whole self. He would rather die than to say it directly to him, and in front of Hiro.

Before all emotion could flow out of his body, he ordered his feet to walk. He went to his study area without another word or a glance to Shuichi, just like he'd done earlier. He closed the door silently and locked himself up.

Shuichi stared at the door as if daring it to cough out Yuki.

"Shuichi," he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'll go now. I'll just see you around." He heard Hiro's weak voice and nodded. He was still staring at Yuki's door and felt that his whole world was engulfed in darkness as Hiro opened and then closed the front door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tears of an Angel**

**Chapter Two:**

* * *

"Damn it to hell!" Yuki angrily thought, as he slammed his laptop shut and tossed his half-finished cigarette away. Leaning on his comfortable, brown chair and looking at the wall ahead of him, Yuki ran a hand through his silky, blond hair as he told himself that he shouldn't be bothered with what Hiro had said. It didn't matter, right?

'That red-haired bastard!'

Opening the silver laptop once again and staring at the blank page in front of him, Yuki lit another cigarette. Why did the stupid boy have to show up and ruin his perfect day? Just when he thought things had gotten back to normal…

Who was he kidding? Nothing was normal. Shuichi was _not _the same anymore. True, he acted as if nothing had happened, and he was still a clumsy brat for sure, but there was something in his eyes, there was something in the depth of those two purple orbs that was telling another story. What the story was exactly, Yuki Eiri had no idea.

Hearing something akin to a small sob coming from the next room, Yuki raised an eyebrow. Hearing Shuichi cry was nothing new. Shuichi cried over ice cream, lollipops, a small kiss, a tender touch or even a little smile from Yuki. But those cries were different. This time…

Cursing Hiro for the umpteenth time for landing him in _this_ situation, Yuki took off his glasses as he stood up and walked towards the door with elegant steps. Grabbing the cold handle, he hesitated for a second, the blond novelist reminding himself that it wouldn't hurt anybody to check up on the pink-haired brat and see if he was all right.

The sobs could be heard more clearly when Yuki had reached the other door, leant on it and closed his eyes. Sometimes…sometimes, it was just too difficult to hear Shuichi cry. Shuichi was not made to cry. He was made to be happy and make others happy, and now just because of some idiots…

'Why do all the bad things always happen to _him_?'

Shuichi had taught him so many things in the short time they had been together. He had taught Yuki how to smile, how to live, and most importantly how to _love_, and it wasn't fair. It was not fair to see him suffer just because some people were too narrow minded, or maybe too jealous to see the cute boy happy.

Opening the door as silently as he could, Yuki's heart clenched painfully as he saw the boy curled up in the corner of the room, head resting on his bare knees. The boy was murmuring some incoherent words to himself as he hugged his legs tighter to his chest. Poor Shuichi.

The blond man was about to move in and hug Shuichi, but stopped himself. Comfort was _not_ what Shuichi needed. This wound was too deep for that. If only Yuki could help the annoying boy somehow…

Closing the door and slowly walking back to his study, Yuki tried to ignore the now very loud sobs as he sat on his chair and stared at the blank page once more. What could he do…?

'I'm going to kill those bastards with my bare hands.'

Killing them was not going to help Shuichi though. It was not the physical damage that was bothering him, it was the _emotional _damage. Those people had thought they had the right to do whatever they wanted just because Shuichi loved another man. It enraged him not only because he loved Shuichi, but because they were _wrong_.

'I wish I could write it down.'

Maybe he could. Maybe he could start writing from the very beginning, from that night they met in the park, the elevator incident, how Shuichi had moved in and how their love had grown stronger. Wouldn't it make an excellent story?

'And I'll tell the world how wrong they are about us.'

Resting his slender fingers on the keyboard, Yuki told himself that he could do it. He had no other choice. He _had_ to help Shuichi somehow.

* * *

Yuki had not stopped writing at all, since his inspiration had hit. The only thing that had managed to make him pause now was a gun, currently held to his forehead by a grinning, blond American. The novelist looked at him with tired eyes that, regardless of their weariness, still did one hell of job expressing his irritation.

"Yuki, your presence is requested," the happy gunman said, putting the gun back into its holster.

"It's my living room, who the hell are you requesting my presence in _my living room_." The raging golden man tried to keep his cool, because his angelic Shuichi was still asleep. _Angelic_; Yuki would have to remember that for later, he noted as he took another cigarette. His eyes continued to follow K, who kept a hand on his gun the whole time.

"Eiri." Tohma smiled, and the novelist knew something was up. "Why don't you have a seat?" The platinum blond gestured to the sofa.

Yuki glared, because it was _his _sofa, in _his _home, and he didn't need permission to sit on it. Once he was seated, he noticed that Shuichi's producer was also there with them. "I think I need a beer," he said, getting up to quickly grab his choice of beverage before sitting down in what he was sure would soon be a war zone. He popped open the can and asked, "What do you want?" directly staring at Tohma as he continued, "I know it has something to do with Shuichi if you two idiots are here."

"Yes, it does, but before we talk about why we're here…I was wondering how Shindou-san was."

"I believe that's a really dumb question, even for you Tohma." Yuki sipped on his beer leaning back against his sofa. "Tell me, how do you think he is?"

"Well, all I know is that he's physically fine, I'm not sure about his…"

Slamming his can on the coffee table and glaring with his golden eyes the tall novelist asked, "Since when did you give a damn about his emotional well-being?"

"Now, Yuki-san," Sakano said, adjusting his glasses, "We only wish for-"

"What?! What is it that you came in here for? Knowing you idiots you figured out a way to benefit yourselves."

"Now, we'd never…" Sakano stated, "I…only want what is best for Shindou-san."

Yuki had no doubt that he was sincere, but the other two, well…Tohma only cared about Yuki and himself, which meant that his only concern for Shuichi was probably because it was hurting the author. Then K would do anything to make the band a success, so what could these idiots be up to?

"That doesn't tell me what you imbeciles want…so tell me, Tohma, what the hell did you interrupt my writing for?"

* * *

Shuichi awoke, his violet eyes looking up toward the ceiling. Instantly, he jerked the covers off in an attempt to get ready for work. He immediately regretted it, as he winced in pain. His body was still sore from the attack, and it actually seemed like it felt worse than before.

Then the events came flashing back. The pounding against his body, the insulting names, and the overwhelming sense of helplessness were now haunting him. That was the worst part of it all, the helplessness. Not being able to fight back. He had been _so _weak. Why was he so _pathetic_? It didn't make any sense, had he not helped rescue Ayaka with Hiro? And yet they were still able to hold him down and slam their fists into his small body, as if he was nothing more than a mere child. He felt the tears coming, though he tried to hold them back; he didn't want to feel weak anymore. As he wiped his eyes, he heard a harsh voice that instantly warmed his heart: Yuki.

He slid off the bed, and then stumbled into the dresser, aching as he bent down to pick something out to wear. He'd fallen onto his bed practically naked the night before, because he had felt too drained to put something on and he didn't want to sleep in the clothes he'd been wearing.

After painfully putting something on, he headed towards that melodious voice he loved so much. He seemed to be moving a little slowly, because every movement he made hurt. Somehow or another he managed to make it out of his room. So he stood in the doorway for only a moment, looking at the beautiful man with hard gold eyes glaring at K. Shuichi wondered what Tohma, Sakano and K were doing there anyway.

* * *

"It seems for someone who's so concerned about Shuichi you're devoting a lot of your time to your writing," K pointed out. Yuki tossed the can towards him, which K managed to shoot a perfect hole through, the bullet piercing upward and implanting itself in the ceiling, earning a scowl from the novelist.

"You're going to pay for that! And just so you know I'm writing it for him."

"Of course, Eiri-san, and we are only here to help you and Shuichi," added Tohma.

"And in what way do you want to help?" Yuki growled.

"We are going to help you deal with the press," Tohma stated, clasping his hands together.

"So that was your plan? You want to use the press coverage on this to increase sales? You _bastards_. I won't-"

"Yuki-san, I'm afraid the press have probably already caught wind of it," Sakano began to explain, once again re-adjusting his glasses. "It is thought that a fan saw you two walking out of the hospital. We're here to help deal with it so that it doesn't get out of hand."

"And yes," K smiled, "We plan on using this; if we get the public on our side, nobody will ever hurt Shuichi again."

Yuki thought about it for a moment. If people already knew that Shuichi had been in hospital who could tell what bizarre story they had come up with? The brat doing drugs or Yuki hitting him…as if he would ever do that, but people could come up with such idiotic conclusions. Perhaps it was better to go out and deal with this, then ignore it. He knew it would be hard for Shuichi, but the kid had to face those bastards, and Yuki was going to pound them as soon as he found them out. That is if the rabid fangirls didn't kill them first. Yuki knew his and Bad Luck's loyal fans would no doubt tear those men limb from limb. For some reason that image made him grin a bit.

"So, Tohma how do you suggest we do this?"

"Firstly, I think we should decide when to release a public statement, I'd advise this afternoon."

"Yuki…" a soft voice called. The novelist looked up to see his brat standing there, staring at him. "What's going on?"

"Brat," Yuki stated affectionately, putting out his cigarette as he got up. "You need to stay in bed."

"I know, but I…" Shuichi felt pained as he tried to take another step towards Yuki, causing him to trip and stumble, but luckily, his gorgeous lover caught him.

"Baka, how I am supposed to get stuff done when I'm worrying about you?"

"Sorry, I…you were worried?" Violet eyes gazed into gold.

"Of course," Yuki picked up the brat, bringing him back to the sofa to sit with him. Shuichi looked at him curiously. After the events with Hiro before, it seemed that the novelist had become more affectionate, Shuichi noted with a smile. Maybe Yuki had been listening. Maybe he really did care.

"I would take you back to bed, but knowing you, you don't have enough sense to stay there while there's something going on in here, dumb brat."

Shuichi cuddled up against Yuki.

"Since Shindou-san is here, perhaps we should go over what he's going to say today," Tohma offered.

"What about today?" Shuichi looked up at Yuki.

"Well," Yuki was unsure why he was feeling guilty, but he was. "Seguchi thinks we should tell the press what happened." The cute, pink-haired man stiffened in the warm arms of his lover. "Shuichi…"

"I'm not talking about it," he buried his head into Yuki's chest. "I don't even want to think about it," he said, muffled against the taller man's torso. Tears began to stain the blond's shirt.

"We understand your concern Shindou-san," Sakano tried to explain, "but there has already been a leak…"

Shuichi looked horrified at his producer. "A leak?" he barely whispered.

"Yes," Sakano nodded his head, "about you being in the hospital, and who knows what horrible rumours there are about you."

Shuichi relaxed a little and rested his head against Yuki's chest.

"Or Yuki," K added, earning a glare from the man himself.

Shuichi gazed up at Yuki, he felt so guilty now. People could be saying bad things about his lover. More tears flowed out of his eyes, and the baka tried to hide them.

"I'm sorry Yuki," he said, as he tried to get off the novelist.

"Baka, I'm the one who should be sorry," the blond whispered, pulling the pink-haired man back to his chest. "I wasn't there for you." Yuki himself was trying to hold back tears. "I don't know why you're trying to hide your tears, I've seen them all before."

"I just can't…" Shuichi got off Yuki and stumbled forward in pain. The blond tried to grab him once more, but the singer just pushed him away. "I feel so weak, I can't face them."

"Brat," Yuki put a hand under Shuichi's chin, so that he could lift his head to meet gold. "You idiot, if you can win my heart you can definitely face a bunch of imbeciles."

"Yuki, I'm scared, I don't want to think about it."

"I know, but you know what it did to me too, right?" Shuichi nodded his head slowly, "And so you know brat." He gently leaned in and kissed his lover, "_We're _facing this, not just you. I told you I won't let you leave me."

"But I…"

"If we don't face this, you might not be strong enough to stay with me."

Shuichi was still a bit confused, though he was starting to understand. He _had _to face this, because people could be cruel and no matter what he did, some would change, but many would not, so he had to learn to face them, and learn to be with Yuki.

"Okay, Yuki. I'll do anything for you."

"Well, then," Sakano pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "Should we go over the statements then?" Shuichi nodded his head, and Yuki gently took him back to the sofa, as they listened - or more like _pretended _to listen, since Shuichi was falling asleep, and Yuki was watching his angel.

Why did people have to make angels cry?

* * *

Shuichi shivered under the tall blonde woman's scrutinizing gaze, her cameraman snickering behind his lens. It seemed that she was sizing him up, to see if this sudden interview was actually worth it. After all, she _was _the best when it came to reporting pop culture. Tohma must have pulled quite a few strings for this one.

"So Eiri-san," she began, ignoring Yuki's glare at her formality, "you are here because…why exactly?"

Yuki continued to glare. He was only here for Shuichi, that was it, and he wasn't obligated to say a single word.

"Well, not to be rude or anything, but I was told this was an interview with Shindou-san."

'Oh, so the brat gets the respect. What a world we live in,' thought Yuki.

"Well…I guess another pretty face won't hurt," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully as someone handed her a microphone.

"Yeah, pretty face. Whatever," he mumbled, and pulled Shuichi closer to his side. Shuichi sighed and leaned against Yuki, taking as much weight off his legs as possible until they reached the interview room and were able to sit. He was still sore, his muscles ached and his head throbbed, but he knew he had to do this. For Sakano, for K, for Yuki, for his fans, and most importantly for himself.

"Okay, please follow us; we'll get you some seats. I understand that Shindou-san is still recovering."

Shuichi smiled nervously as they followed her and her cameraman. His legs burned as he walked and he was more than relieved when he finally sat down, keeping his wince to a minimum.

"We're on air in five minutes," the cameraman said, and the woman nodded.

"Please call me Lisa, during the interview." Shuichi nodded. "And I really must thank you for coming to share your story, even though it's probably still painful for you to talk about."

Shuichi grabbed Yuki's hand, and said, "It needs to be done."

Lisa smiled, before sifting through some index cards in her hands.

"Two minutes."

"Is there anything you want to say before the interview starts?" Lisa asked.

"Um, yes actually. If I start to cry…c-can you please turn the cameras off?"

Lisa smiled apologetically, "I'll see what I can do Shindou-san."

"Thank you."

"One minute. Places people!" the cameraman shouted as he moved to stand in front of Lisa, who was primping her short blonde hair in preparation. He focused the camera lens and began to count down from thirty.

"Nine, eight, seven…" Lisa looked to Shuichi and winked, as Yuki's grip on his hand tightened. The cameraman signalled three, two and one on his hand, and then gave an okay sign.

"Hello and I'm Kawamura Lisa. Tonight I am here live with Japan's hottest and most controversial couple, the hit pop star Shindou Shuichi and his lover, the famous romance novelist Yuki Eiri…"

Across Japan, millions of people were tuned into the interview with Shuichi and Eiri, each one of them desperate to know the latest gossip about what had recently happened to the singer.

An over-excited girl named Fuu jabbered into her phone as she watched the television. "Omigod! Hikaru! Kawamura Lisa is doing another celebrity interview today! And it's with Shindou Shuichi! Yeah! I think she's going to find out if those rumours about him are true!"

"So Shindou-san, rumours claim that you were seen coming from a hospital in pretty bad shape. May I ask what happened, or if this is even true at all?" Lisa asked, her image slightly blurry on the television screen. The picture went to Shuichi, his violet eyes deep and saddened.

"It's true," he said quietly.

Fuu dropped her phone as she gasped.

"I was there because…" the camera shifted down slightly to reveal his and Yuki's hands, which were firmly interlaced. "…because I was attacked," Shuichi said finally.

"Attacked?" Fuu found herself asking in time with Lisa.

"Y-yes…by a small group of men…" Shuichi could feel his eyes well up with tears as images of the attack came flooding back into his memory: the horrible beatings and their sickening laughter. He wanted to cry again, but he held it in as best he could.

"Why would someone do such a thing to you?" Lisa asked. She had shifted to the edge of her chair, shocked at the response from Shuichi.

"They didn't approve of my…_relationship _with Yuki," he said, his voice quivering uncontrollably.

Lisa had not been told the circumstances of Shuichi's injuries before the interview and a hate attack had not entered her speculations. The experienced presenter had trouble hiding her disbelief and even Yuki, whose face had been as impassive as he could muster, seemed more sullen.

"I understand this is difficult for you to talk about and thank you for sharing such a horrible story with us. Is there anything you want to tell all of our viewers out there?"

Shuichi smiled sadly and waved to the camera, part of his normal personality leaking through, "Just thank you for listening to my music and being very supportive of my band! Domo arigato!"

Fuu turned the television off as Lisa ended the interview and a new show started to air. "Hikaru, we need to do something about this!" she shouted.

"_I agree. It was as if he was calling out to us!"_

"Yeah! We need to get a whole bunch of the girls together and find these guys! We can't let people like that just get away with this!"

"_Right! We can be like detectives!" _Hikaru chirped.

"Oh and we should have an organization name!"

"_Like what?"_

"How about…F.U?" Fuu asked, twirling her curly blonde hair round her finger.

"_W-what? Why would we want to call ourselves that?!"_

"It stands for Fangirls United…"

"_Oh."_

Fuu thought about their next plan off action, "We need to get more members! Call up your friends and I'll call mine and we can get together later this evening for pizza."

Hikaru agreed, "We should also turn it into a sleep-over, that way we can get more work done!"

"That's a fabulous idea! I have more room at my house, I don't think my mum will mind too much," Fuu giggled.

Later that evening, Fuu and Hikaru sat at a large round table, along with several other girls. Maps, drawings and drafted letters to politicians lay scattered across the tabletop. There were used plates and mostly-empty pizza boxes strewn around the living room in amongst their sleeping bags and Bad Luck's album was playing quietly in the background.

"So can we just make a wanted poster or something?" Hikaru asked, as she braided her red hair.

"We don't even know what they look like, though," another girl interjected.

"Well, we know they're guys…" Hikaru said, trying to defend herself.

"Oh yeah! Let's make wanted posters! Description: A small group of men each with two arms and a face!" the girl retorted, and Hikaru stuck her tongue out in reply.

"So I guess there's nothing we can do…" Fuu said, sadly. "Writing letters won't get us anywhere, and trying to pinpoint the perpetrators' location is nearly impossible."

"I don't understand why someone would do that to Shuichi. He's such an angel," one girl added, with a sigh.

"Yeah he is. I just love the sound of his voice! The voice of a _god_!" another said.

"Omigod! And his stage outfit? I thought I was going to die when I saw it at one of his concerts!"

"Oh he's so lucky too! To get Eiri Yuki…Oh I'm so jealous!" a brunette girl said, as she wiped some drool from her chin.

"OH YUKI!" all the girls shouted in unison.

"F.U is doomed…" Fuu said to Hikaru, sighing dismally. Hikaru nodded in agreement.

Fuu and Hikaru let their friends have their fun for a few moments longer before Fuu cut in, "Alright people, enough squeeing, we have work to do. Our favourite couple have just been abused because they're in love. We really need to do something to help them."

Hikaru nodded in agreement, "For sure. People shouldn't be allowed to get away with hate crimes. We've been in a restrictive society for too long. I think it's time we caught up with the rest of the world and march for gay rights. There are so many gay and lesbian people living here in hiding because they fear retribution from the rest of society. It was only since Shuichi and Yuki announced their relationship on television that some of them have come out of the closet too."

The other girls had settled down and were listening thoughtfully.

After several steady discussions the girls had decided to organise a rights march. They knew that they needed to get some help by writing their letters to various politicians as not all of the politicians they were planning to write to were as open minded as them. They also constructed a list of other people they knew, famous faces, companies and their general contact addresses in order to notify them of their plans and ask them for support.

Then, one of Hikaru's friends had a revelation, "Uh, guys…we already have a Gay Pride March here in Tokyo. It's held in July."

The other girls stopped short of what they were doing and sat back with a collective, "Oh yeah…"

Fuu looked between the other girls, "Well, it's clearly not doing enough! Our favourite singer was beaten up by some random people who cannot accept who he is. We need another gay rights march and in the light of what has happened to Shindou-san, it needs to be held as soon as possible!"

The group's enthusiasm was renewed as they returned to their respective tasks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tears of an Angel **

**_Chapter 3: _**

Eiri had been typing away at his book for hours, but now it seemed that his muse had left him. It wasn't as if he didn't know what to write, he simply didn't know how to put it down. He had tried to describe Shuichi's behaviour in several different ways, but each time he wasn't satisfied with what came out. Actually, it was the same problem whenever he tried to deal with Shuichi's attack or its consequences on the young boy: he couldn't find the right words anymore.

Even when he tried to comfort his lover, he couldn't find the right words to tell him, the words the singer most wanted to hear. Eiri was not the best at consoling people and it was even harder when it was Shuichi, since the boy was always so over-sensitive. What could he do to make his lover smile again? It was on these occasions that the novelist always felt useless. After all, a good boyfriend would have been able to find a way to make things better for the one he loved. But Eiri was not the kind of man who had comforted many people before, and he was not the kind of guy who really cared either. Nevertheless, everything had changed for him since Shuichi had entered his life, and maybe he needed to change too, at least a little.

Eiri was lost in his thoughts when he heard something coming from the bedroom, which was right next door. The blond frowned slightly, trying to identify what it was. He eventually recognized it as sobbing, and it was obviously coming from his Shuichi.

It was a light sob that Shuichi had tried to muffle, not wanting it to be heard even by him, which the writer found strange since Shuichi was always looking for attention. If the singer wanted his lover to take him in his arms, he would have shown up in the study, crying like a baby. The mere fact that he was still in their bedroom, all alone and wrapped in his sorrow meant that he did not want Yuki to hear him cry. _He is depressed and sad, but still that brat keeps on trying to protect me. As if I need protection…He doesn't want me to worry about him, but doesn't he understand yet that the more distant he is with me, the more I worry?!_

The novelist felt frustrated. He had never quite managed to protect his lover: he had failed when Aizawa raped him, he had failed when Tohma tried to separate them, he had failed to protect him from this latest attack, and even worse…he was failing at being a good boyfriend to the one person he loved the most. Maybe he should just go and be there, near him. Maybe being with him without the boy even needing to ask was the best solution.

With this idea firmly stuck in mind, he made his way towards his study door. Even if Shuichi did not want to be comforted, he would still do it. Why? _Because I can't bear hearing him cry, _he thought. When he finally stood in front of their bedroom door, he took a deep breath to compose himself, and then turned the knob. With a slight 'click', the door opened, revealing a dark room; Shuichi had closed the blinds, preventing the sun's rays from entering, and all the lights had been switched off. The light from the hallway emitted a dull glow that enabled Eiri to see his lover's form on their bed, hidden beneath his blanket. Only a few pink strands were visible on the pillows, being the only part of the small boy that was coming out of the thick layer of duvet.

Obviously, Shuichi had tried to muffle his sobs with the blanket, but to no avail since Yuki had still heard them, even through the walls. Now that he was in the room, he could hear them even clearer. Since the singer had not moved or stopped crying, the writer assumed he must not have noticed his presence. He had been quiet coming in and Shuichi's sobs must have covered the sound of his steps on the wooden floor. On the other hand, Shuichi may have noticed, but simply did not show it.

For a little while, Eiri just stood there in the doorway and listened. Each cute sniffling, each soul-breaking moan and each discreet hiccup were making their way through the blonde's heart, slowly chipping it like porcelain. His lover seemed so weak, so frail… he was nice and generous to everyone. Even though he had already been through so many things, he remained pure and innocent. He was a real angel. His angel. How could people want to hurt such a beautiful person? How had those bastards dared to raise their fists to him? For the first time, he was not angry thinking about it. No, for once he was sad. Why did his little angel have to cry? Out of everyone, why him? If Eiri had been able to reverse the roles, he would have suffered all this just to spare his Shu-chan the pain.

Yuki decided he needed to try to make the suffering go away; he climbed onto the bed and felt Shuichi shifting as he lay down beside him. He tried to slide under the covers, but the singer would not let him, wrapping himself in the duvet even tighter.

"Shuichi, come here," he said, trying to gently remove the thick blanket.

The boy groaned in complaint, but did not struggle as Eiri eventually managed to take hold of him and pull him into his arms. The younger man immediately snuggled up to him, still sniffing. The writer placed a soft kiss on the top of Shuichi's head and nestled his face into the mop of pink hair. It was nice to feel the singer's warm body against his own and most of all, it was nice to hear the sobs calming into silent tears.

"I'm here Shu," he whispered, hoping it would make things a little better.

As his left hand gently stroked the singer's back, the other shifted his chin so that their eyes met. The wet lavender orbs met soft golden ones and Shuichi could see his lover's concern, so he gave a weak smile in an attempt to reassure him. However, he failed miserably. Eiri wiped away the tears that were still rolling down his brat's cheeks and kissed him. It was just a chaste kiss, but it was enough to convey his feelings and his worry. Then he took Shuichi's hand in his own and moved closer to him.

They simply stayed there for a while, their low breathing the only sound that could be heard amidst the silence. In earlier thoughts, Yuki had wondered if he needed to change, but deep down he knew that he had changed a while ago. It was always during such tender and intimate moments as these that the blond could see how much he _had_changed, and in which ways. Before, he would not have cared for anybody beside himself. He had been cold, mean and did not have an ounce of compassion. Yet since he had met his little baka, he had become better. Being with Shuichi, developing feelings for him, falling in love with him, had made him want to improve himself. He wanted to turn into someone that the boy would be proud to call his lover. Eiri knew Shuichi's heart was already his, but he still wanted to be good enough to really deserve it.

It was weird to see how Shuichi always highlighted the brightest part of anyone's personality. He had also changed Tohma, Mika, his friends, his fans and the public's point of view in certain ways. He showed everyone how to love. He was an angel and his sadness, as much as his happiness, could bring great emotions out of people, such as compassion, anger, grief, joy. When this little angel was crying, just like today, it was as if the world was going into the depths of sorrow with him. Eiri could almost imagine thousands of people crying with Shuichi.

With this particular thought in mind, the writer knew exactly how to describe his lover and the consequences of the attack on both of them. The best way was not the psychological approach as he had thought at the beginning, but the sentimental one. Explaining their feelings was the best way. He was a romance novelist! How could he have missed such an obvious thing?! He could see the right words forming sentences in his head at that very moment and he smiled.

"Shuichi?"

"Mmh?" his lover mumbled into the soft fabric of his shirt, his cheek pressed against the writer's chest.

"Do you know what happens when angels cry?"

The boy had not expected such a strange question and he cast a curious glance at his lover, wondering who this man was and where _the real _Yuki had gone. Because _the real _Yuki would never have asked such a suckie, love-struck, romantic question.

"Yuki? You alright?"

Eiri did not answer but instead asked, "So, you don't know?"

Still confused, the boy rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to clear his sight from the unshed tears and simply frowned. As his lover was still waiting for an answer, he shook his head no.

"When angels cry, the world changes."

"What do you mean, 'the world changes'?"

"Angel tears make everyone's hearts open to each other," the blond explained.

"And…is that a good thing?" Shuichi asked, hesitantly.

A soft smile spread across his beloved one's face, as he answered, "Of course it is."

Eiri kissed the boy on the lips, but tenderly and lovingly this time._There is no need for you to cry anymore, tenshi._

* * *

It was not long before Shuichi had dropped off in his lover's arms. Yuki carefully laid him down onto the bed and pulled the cover up over him. He stayed watching Shuichi sleep for another moment before he rubbed at his own tense temple.

It had been easier the first time Shuichi had been hurt. That time he had just…rebounded back. It did not seem to have bothered the boy as much because he had been doing it to protect Yuki. But this time, for them to have just hurt him for being gay.

It had been a shock to his system, Yuki thought. Shuichi had never really thought of homophobia before. Everyone that was important to him had just accepted it, it hadn't seemed to have crossed his mind that there were people who wouldn't. A surprising number of people; an irritating number of people.

_What was so wrong with it? _Yuki thought, getting frustrated now. _Why they do they give such a damn? _

Yuki Eiri was at the height of popularity when he was sleeping around, and drinking and smoking non-stop. His books were selling like wild fire, and nobody gave a damn about his private life. But the moment that his relationship with Shuichi became public some people had decided that they didn't want to read his books anymore. Not enough to throw him out of business, far from it. Yuki Eiri would always be Yuki Eiri; but Mizuki had been the first to point out that his demographic had shortened. Fewer women seemed to be happy with him, but gay men still didn't want to read because of the female basis of his novels. It seemed people preferred a straight player to a one-man-guy, which to Yuki did not seem to make any sense at all. It was just what had happened.

Suddenly hit by a wave of inspiration, Yuki stood up from the bed, and made his way out of the room.

He typed furiously at the keyboard. The keys met his fingers in quick succession, as the lines piled out onto the screen. Yuki paused for a moment to take a sip of coffee, before once again he attacked at his laptop. The paragraphs speedily formed, the chapter close to being finished. Yuki knew he wouldn't stop when that chapter ended, though. He was on a roll now, and most definitely not ready to give up.

Behind him came the pitter-patter of bare feet on wooden floor, but it came so inaudibly that Yuki, wrapped up in his work didn't even hear the noise.

There was a slight pause, before the novelist froze at the sound of, "…Yuki?"

The blond turned around, to see Shuichi standing in the doorway, looking down at the floor, "Yeah?"

"I couldn't sleep."

Yuki sighed, and rubbed again at his temple. He had been completely inspired as well, but now it seemed his story writing would just have to wait. "You were asleep when I saw you."

Shuichi beamed, "You were watching me?" He registered Yuki's glare and reduced his grin to a slight smile. "I did drop off, I guess, for a bit. But then it was a bit horrible and weird and then I woke up."

Yuki paused for a moment, studying his young lover's face. It was strange to think how much younger Shuichi seemed, especially like this - draped in a pair of oversized pyjamas and twiddling with his thumbs, awkwardly, childishly. Yuki tried to backtrack to himself at that age, and realised how different he had been to Shuichi. How much he had changed from his immature self. He did _not _want Shuichi to change like that.

"You had a nightmare?" Yuki asked, at last. "What about?"

"I don't really know," Shuichi said, this bemused expression on his face. "I was in an alley - _the _alley -" Yuki immediately knew which one. "And the guys came, like they did the first time, but then suddenly they froze, and they turned into strips of bacon." He giggled to himself at this thought, in a completely Shuichi-like fashion. "And then you appeared - and this woman was with you, I can't describe how beautiful she was… like an angel, or something. And you two had a giant frying pan, and you put the bacon guys in the frying ban and you cooked them, and then I woke up." He caught Yuki's raised eyebrow, and giggled again. "I told you I didn't really know. It was strange. And a bit horrible, I felt really scared. And then you came and…" he trailed off. "Well you get the idea."

Yuki contemplated this, half-smiling to himself, although he tried to conceal it. He was too tired to try very hard though and Shuichi caught his look and smiled back.

"Come here," Yuki said, and Shuichi immediately obliged, moving up to his lover. When he got right up to him Yuki reached out, and pulled the young boy onto his lap, where he lay sprawled, his face nestled into the blond's torso.

"You are being really nice."

Yuki frowned at this, "I am always nice."

Shuichi choked and actually burst out laughing, cuddling deeper against his boyfriend, "I love you."

There was a pause as the words sank in before, completely out of nowhere Yuki said, "I'm writing a book."

Shuichi looked up at Yuki as if he had gone crazy, "I know, you're a writer, you're usually writing a book."

Yuki glared at him, "I mean a book worth writing. A book you will want to read."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's about you."

There was a silence as Shuichi let the words hit him and roll into his brain like the rain in autumn. "You're writing a book…about me?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Yuki realised he had snapped that a little, he was growing impatient. He was always snappy when his patience dwindled. Shuichi had not seemed to notice though; he was too caught up on what Yuki had told him.

"But…why?"

Yuki shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because you never include me in your work."

"And don't you think it's a good thing that that is about to change?"

Shuichi smiled, at a loss to do anything else, "Of course I do. I just didn't think…" He looked at Yuki, really looked at him, "So what happens in it?"

"What do you think happens, baka?" Yuki retorted, "Us. It starts with the park and ends…well, I don't really know where yet; I haven't gotten that far. Here, I suppose."

Shuichi looked pleased. He had that lovesick expression he always donned whenever Yuki did anything remotely sweet, "Can I read it?"

"When I'm done," Yuki answered, easily, "You can read it the whole way through then."

Shuichi leaned against his lover, "I can't believe you're writing about us. Like…in a book."

"As opposed to writing about us not in a book."

This time Shuichi glared, although only teasingly, "You know what I mean."

"I do," Yuki agreed, "You should get back to bed, you know. You're tired. I'll walk you back."

Shuichi pouted, "Stay with me."

"Writing, Shuichi."

Shuichi sighed, although not dejectedly; his face still held its happiness, "But when you're done writing, you'll come?"

"Sure," Yuki replied and he led his lover back into the bedroom, after which he returned to his laptop before all of the inspiration fell out of his head.

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Something tugged at Shuichi's heartstrings as he watched Yuki typing away. Yuki's eyebrows were worked up into a knot of concentration as his fingers danced effortlessly over the keyboard. A few strands of silky blond hair had fallen into his eyes, but Yuki hadn't bothered pushing them away. He was so focused on typing he even failed to notice Shuichi leaning against the doorway. Shuichi had never seen Yuki like this before.

The fact that the book Yuki was so fired up on writing was about them made Shuichi love Yuki even more, if that was possible. A slight frown appeared on Shuichi's face as a thought hit him. Yuki was busy working on his book and all Shuichi had done was mope and feel sorry for himself. That wouldn't do. He was not going to let people trample all over him, all over _them_ anymore. It was time to retaliate, if not for his sake, for Yuki. The world could think what they wanted to, but Shuichi was going to let them know what _he_ thought as well.

Shuichi was no fighter; he couldn't throw a right hook to save his life. He was _not _like Yuki, who had a gift for weaving powerful tales that moved people and made them think more than twice. He was _not_like Tohma, who was a brilliant manipulative bastard that could brainwash the devil. No, he was going to do it his way, Shindou Shuichi style. He was going to sing. And he was going to smile as he did so. Who cared what people thought?

Lyrics were quickly forming in his head, already dancing to the rhythm of a spontaneous tune. Shuichi dashed into the living room, grabbed a foolscap paper and pen and began his feverish scribbling. He was in a trance and didn't stop until he was done. In no time at all, the pen was down on the table and the paper lifted off. Shuichi sang it on impulse, following his instinct.

_I used to think the world was black and white_

_It's not; it's gray_

_There is no right or wrong_

_And there is no you or I_

_There is only us_

_It's true that we argue_

_It's true that we fight_

_I get sad_

_And I cry_

_But it's nothing to do with them_

_And everything to us_

_Say what you will_

_And do what you want_

_It doesn't matter at all_

_Because we are one_

_I'm drowning, I'm chocking_

_Who's going to save me?_

_I just want to love_

_Why do they hate?_

_The darkness is closing in_

_And the candle is the lifeline_

_What happens when it dies?_

_I'm sick of people staring_

_I'm sick of fingers pointing_

_Why won't they understand?_

_Why can't they just let us live?_

_I belong to you_

_And you belong to me_

_It's all right if we have nothing else_

_Cause' all we need is us_

_I'm trapped_

_And I can't escape_

_I can't be saved_

_And I won't be_

_The candle is blown out_

_And there's no light_

_But it's okay_

_Because there you are_

_I don't want to be saved_

_Because I don't need to_

_You're with me_

_I'm with you_

_We are us_

The words flowed flawlessly and left Shuichi breathless, exhilarated and at peace. A genuine smile finally dawned on his face, erasing his earlier frown. "Perfect," he breathed out. His voice was soft, but it carried itself to the study where Yuki had paused typing the moment Shuichi's soulful singing began. Yuki's lips curled up into a small but rare smile and without saying anything, he continued typing. They would be all right now.

* * *

Yuki preferred to see his brat of a rock star occupied. It made him feel that things could actually return to normal, even if those bastards were still out there waiting to jump the next unsuspecting innocent for loving the wrong person. Still, Shuichi had sequestered himself in the bedroom and since a quick ear to the door didn't bring the sound of crying as Yuki had started to grow so used to of late, he decided to consider it a good thing.

The phone began to ring in the living room and Yuki hurried to answer it. He had shut his cell phone off for a reason, but he answered the landline anyway, not wanting the ringing to disturb Shuichi.

"What?" he growled into the receiver. Niceties were not Yuki Eiri's style. Besides, the only people who would call them already knew Yuki's temperament and would just have to deal with it.

"Hello to you too," came Mizuki's voice. "Are you always this chipper, Yuki-san, or is it just me that brings out this side of you?"

Yuki grit his teeth, "Do I even get to breathe after finishing a book before you're after me?"

"Not on my watch," Mizuki replied, "This baby needs marketing like nobody's business. A story inspired by true events, written by the great romance artist Yuki Eiri? Sure, it'll sell on its own, but I'm talking about the global scale here. Press conferences, a movie deal, I want you two on talk shows with this thing."

A hand came up to press into Yuki's temples and for good reason. He could feel the headache coming already. "You _two_?" he repeated. He did not see how Shuichi needed to be apart of any more marketing.

"Of course _you two_. This is a major story. Especially with all the extra publicity now that those scumbags have been caught. Can you imagine…" Mizuki kept talking, but Yuki no longer heard her. His mind was stuck on those words, those impossible words that meant all of this…might actually be over.

Yuki let Mizuki rattle on for several more minutes before he found his tongue again and finally said, "They've been caught?" his voice was stale and hollow.

It was too good to be true. The fact that Yuki was still alive and that he woke up every morning next to a bundle of pink-haired crazy called Shuichi; those were miracles. This just seemed impossible.

Although Yuki had asked Mizuki the question, he was no longer listening to her for the full answer. All he heard was, "Haven't you been watching the news?" and the phone fell from Yuki's hand, landing soundlessly on the carpet. He was beside the couch the next moment, turning on the TV with their little remote and waiting breathlessly to see the truth for himself.

There they were. With their names displayed, their ratty clothes, their grubby hands that had hurt his Shuichi, they were being taken away in cuffs. These men were wanted for more than mere hate crimes, the report was saying, but on several accounts of assault, robbery, even attempted murder. It made Yuki's blood boil to think they might have hurt Shuichi more than they had. Nevertheless, it made his pulse race with dark excitement to think that those men would be going away for a long time with all those counts brought against them.

The newswoman was talking about the perpetrators' most well-known crime; the attack on singer Shindou Shuichi, who was right now tucked away in his and Yuki's bedroom with no idea of what had just happened.

Yuki left for the bedroom that next second, stepping over the phone uncaring to Mizuki's voice ringing out again and again on the other line for Yuki to pick the damn thing up again. He had no such plans. He didn't even knock when he reached the bedroom, didn't give any sign at all that he was coming in. He just opened the door, all set to immediately tell Shuichi what had happened…when he found he couldn't. His words would land on deaf ears because his dear Shuichi had fallen asleep.

The little musician was sprawled sideways, his feet dangling off the side of the bed. A notebook was clutched to his chest and a pencil lay beside him. Mid-edit of his newest song, Shuichi had surrendered to a nap. His body probably needed it.

It didn't matter now. None of it did. It wouldn't have mattered if those men had never been caught. Shuichi was okay. They were okay. Yuki's book was already being prepared for marketing and the text would not be ready for publication for months. That was most likely a blessing in disguise because neither he nor Mizuki could decide on a fitting title for the book. If there was no angel looking out for them and this crazy, mismatched relationship, then Shuichi had to be one. It really was the only explanation.

There were two choices now; one being for Yuki to leave the room and let Shuichi sleep, the other being to enter the room and go from there.

Yuki closed the door behind him and walked to the bed.

There were Shuichi's little snores, his mouth open, his shirt hiked up to reveal his flat stomach. Yuki felt a grin tugging at his mouth and took Shuichi's ankles in hand, swinging the younger man around so that he was actually on the bed the way a person was supposed to lay. Shuichi didn't rouse, not even when Yuki sat on the edge of the bed and bent down to kiss his forehead. It was a show of tenderness that Yuki might not offer very often, but he knew - because he knew Shuichi better than he knew anyone now - that Shuichi did not mind.


	4. Chapter 4

To say Yuki's novel was an immediate best seller would be pointless. After all, all of his novels are immediate best sellers. However, _Lover, Sanity, Life_ received his widest audience and sold more copies than any of his previous works.

For the first time in his career, Yuki was actively involved in monitoring the novel's translation into several different languages including English, French and Spanish. Although he did not speak a word of several of the languages, Yuki wanted to make sure that this novel was not distorted through translation. He did not give a flying monkey about the other novels and believed that people should learn to read Japanese if they want the real thing. However, this one was different; this novel was about his life with Shuichi and held a special place for Yuki and no language barrier was going to alter this novel. When the book became a best seller in America, the book was released in other English speaking countries including Great Britain and Australia.

There was a month's calm, which Yuki and Shuichi took most of that time off to spend together in Paris and Bordeaux as well as the French countryside. If Yuki thought it was amusing watching Shuichi try to speak English and while he himself only knew enough French to get by happily enough, it was a comedy spectacle watching Shuichi try out French. Eventually Shuichi got annoyed enough to threaten their sexual relationship and Yuki had to give in and teach him some proper French words and phrases.

While strolling down a sparsely populated Parisian street, the couple walked passed a few bookstores, each one promoting _Lover, Sanity, Life_ with the shelves barely half full. Then the inevitable happened; someone recognised the pink hair, even in Paris and by a group of six young girls. Shuichi happily obliged while Yuki grudgingly obliged in spending the next fifteen minutes standing there signing the girl's copies of the book and chatting with them as best they could.

As they walked away, Shuichi looked back at the group of girls heading in the opposite direction and announced to Yuki, "Wow, French girls are so cute!" he giggled.

Yuki looked down at his lover, a little shocked and somewhat put out that Shuichi was suddenly checking out chicks, "Oi!" He reached down to swipe Shuichi lightly on the backside, "You belong to me, you know!"

Shuichi stumbled a little before hugging into Yuki, giggling again, "I know! I love you, Yuki!"

Yuki shook his head and let a rare, small smile show before placing his arm around Shuichi and they continued down the street.

* * *

Upon returning home, Yuki knew they would be in for a mass media onslaught, but Yuki was not quite as prepared for the international frenzy as he thought. They hadn't been back in their apartment for an hour before Seguchi rocked up and showed them just what had happened during their trip away.

Yuki just stared at the international sales figures in front of him. The novel had sold out in Japan, Singapore, Thailand and New York with sellers in California, Australia and Great Britain running low on copies and requesting another shipment. The novel was already scheduled for a re-print.

Then came the bombshell. Tohma presented Yuki and Shuichi with copies of letters from worldwide organisations and gay rights groups praising the novel in the name of gay pride and offering them a place in their gay rights marches and celebrations.

Yuki did not want to consider the media interviews and book signings that he was sure Mizuki had already set up for him. He seriously considered running back to the French countryside and hiding there permanently. That was until a grinning and teary-eyed Shuichi glomped him around his shoulders where they sat thanking Yuki for writing the novel. Yuki's apprehensive fears for the immediate future dissipated as Shuichi thanked him. He took a moment to ignore his brother-in-law as he pulled Shuichi into his lap, hugging the younger man tightly, relishing in the fact that their message had been heard all around the world. To be perfectly honest, Yuki could not have asked for a better outcome.

The following two weeks were spent submerged in the Japanese media frenzy in radio, television and magazine interviews and they were special guests at a new gay rights march with a place reserved at the front for them. With such a large celebrity input to the march including Bad Luck, the former members of Nittle Grasper and Yuki Eiri participating, it became the largest gay rights march in Tokyo's history. After the event they were whisked away to change and attend a function in which they met the young girls who initialised the organisation of it all.

Yuki was not afraid to admit he was apprehensive about meeting these girls. His experience with 'young girls' often meant 'fangirls' to him. Shuichi, who had certainly had his fair share of fangirl experiences told Yuki to suck it up because of what these two had accomplished. Before Yuki could comment, Shuichi had dragged him along behind Tohma to the place of meeting.

Hikaru was on the verge of hyperventilating, even Fuu was struggling to keep calm as the time they would get to meet THE Yuki Eiri and THE Shindou Shuichi drew closer. Fuu handed Hikaru a glass of water in order to help her calm down some. They had agreed to stay away from the offered champagne just in case it clashed with their excitement and they did something embarrassing.

The time to meet their idols came far too quickly and Fuu was starting to get nervous, after all this was going to be the biggest moment of their lives. Hikaru shook her out of a slight reverie with frantic questions, "Fuu! What do I say? How do I act? How do I say things? What if I say something totally embarrassing? What if I say nothing at all? Fuu! They are being led over here right now!"

Fuu took hold of Hikaru's hand and steadied her friend. She too had only just been asking herself the same questions, "Just keep calm, take slow, deep breaths and try to go with the flow, okay?"

Hikaru took and deep breath and nodded, "I will be okay."

Fuu smiled, "Good…and I promise to kill you and bury you never to be found again if you do something totally embarrassing so long as you do the same for me."

The girls looked at each other with resolve and Hikaru replied with, "Deal!"

Having met Seguchi Tohma on earlier Nittle Grasper occasions and having met the man for a discussion on the march, on arrival of the march and on arrival at the function, they felt rather comfortable (and somewhat relieved) when he approached them, Yuki and Shuichi in tow. Tohma introduced them all and they exchanged greetings.

Shuichi could not stop grinning as he thanked Fuu and Hikaru, "Wow! What you girls have done is amazing! It really is."

Fuu felt she had recovered enough to speak for them both, "Thank you. When we saw that interview and learned what had happened, we could not just sit there and take it all in. It is unfair that people have to go through what you did, Shindou-sama. I just hope things got through to people."

Hikaru, still silently in awe, nearly outwardly awed when she saw the hand Yuki had on Shuichi's shoulder squeeze a little.

Yuki studied the girl for a moment before answering, "Thank you. This has been really appreciated. You cannot change everyone's minds, but if you change just a few, then the effort was worth it."

Hikaru nodded in agreement and added, "See, even mass fangirls can be good for something!"

Fuu could not help but giggle and continued on, getting a little bolder, "Well I hope those mongrels rot in prison. The laws on assault and hate crimes do not change nor can be justified simply because of someone's sexual preferences."

Shuichi, starting to get emotional, chose that moment to hug them both, whispering his 'thank you'. Yuki took the girl's pause as an opportunity to escort Shuichi away from the pending screams. But there came none. Yuki looked back expecting them to by lying on the floor having fainted, but no, to his surprise they were still standing and merely fanning themselves and gulping down glasses of water. Maybe it was the ball gowns they were wearing that kept them in order.

Yuki led Shuichi out of the hall and onto a quieter balcony away from the crowds, "Are you alright?"

Shuichi nodded and calmed himself down, "It…is just really nice to know people out there really do care about what happens to others."

Yuki continued to watch the emotions going across Shuichi's face.

Shuichi turned to Yuki and looked up with fleeting hope, "Will the world really change?"

Yuki put his arm around his younger lover, "I do not think it will, not entirely. It is slowly changing and we are together in a much more accepting society than fifty years ago."

Shuichi looked up at Yuki, love shinning from his eyes and hugged deep into Yuki's chest. He knew that so long as he was with Yuki, everything would be okay.

* * *

Before Yuki knew it, it was time to head off overseas. K and Mizuki, a truly discomforting notion, had paired up and planned for the couple to participate in gay rights marches and parades all around the world leading to a very hectic and busy month of July. Yuki swore he would never forgive her for this and K was banned from his apartment for life…again, or still more rather.

First stop was Sydney, Australia where the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was held earlier than others were around the world being at the end of February instead of midyear. The parade almost took over the streets of the entire city. Well, it felt like that to Yuki being dragged along the parade route by a very enthusiastic Shuichi. The parade route took them to a large park known as The Domain, according to the signs and they were directed to a tent placed on high to watch the after parade concert featuring many Australian performers. Shuichi was quietly bopping along to this new kind of music until towards the end when a small girl walked onto the stage, eliciting an incredible roar from the crowd. Even Yuki was impressed with her glittering, feathered costume and stage props, but Shuichi appeared mesmerised.

"Who is that Yuki?" Shuichi asked looking at what he thought was a teenage girl.

Yuki looked down at Shuichi, "That is Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most famous performers and a huge gay icon."

Shuichi's expression was priceless as he admitted, "Kylie Minogue? No way! I could have sworn that person up there was a teenager…"

Yuki had to laugh, "She is older than Seguchi, you know."

Shuichi sat up straighter, "You would not know it looking at her! Wow! She is so pretty! Have you met her before?"

Yuki nodded, "Twice now. Seguchi knows her and he dragged me to her Fever concert in London a few years ago. I was not particularly interested but I am glad I went."

Understanding dawned on Shuichi's features, "Oh yeah! You did say you went to one of her concerts."

Yuki was thankful Shuichi could not see his faint blush on his cheeks with the flashing stage lighting as he held up three fingers.

Shuichi blinked, "Three concerts?" Shuichi gave Yuki a knowing look, "Have you become a fan?"

Yuki huffed a little, "Shut up. Her concerts are brilliant…"

Smiling, Shuichi took Yuki's arm and hugged into him, "Will you take me to one next time?"

Yuki gave a small nod and finished watching what appeared to be a remix of her Showgirl costumes and rearrangements and yes, he could pick that out. Three songs in and Shuichi was completely hooked and tried to sing along to the chorus of 'Better the Devil You Know'. Yuki decided to bite the bullet and introduced Shuichi to Kylie after her performance. They spent an hour with Kylie out and about the park, during which Shuichi had begged Yuki to buy every DVD and CD of hers that next morning, before Kylie showed Shuichi backstage. An hour and a half later and every stage prop and costume tried out, Yuki carried his exhausted baka out of the park and to a waiting taxi.

Shuichi leaned tiredly against Yuki, "Kylie is so nice! She said we could meet up with her when we are in London."

Yuki looked out the window with a hidden smile on his face, "I know, I was there too baka."

"Yuki!" Shuichi scolded as he yawned, "Will you teach me more English so I can speak to her better next time?

Yuki looked down at Shuichi, not expecting such a question, "If you would like."

They spent two more days in Sydney before returning to Japan to await their next appearance in Bangkok at the end of June.

From Thailand, they travelled direct to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles parade was followed by an invite only street party where Shuichi got to meet up with Sakuma-san again. Yuki definitely needed a beer…or several. Yuki turned away to get one and returned to find Shuichi and Sakuma-san gone. Knowing he was with Sakuma-san made things a little less frightening for Yuki, but not by a lot and he finished his beer before stalking through the crowd looking for Shuichi. Before long, Shuichi drunkenly reappeared by Yuki's side, no Sakuma-san, with what turned out to be a 'third or fourth…ish…maybe five…will you kiss me?' long island tea. Heaven help the one who gave them to him if Yuki found them. Shuichi then loudly announced that he had been invited to the next year's Bad Boys Pool Party. Yuki had heard that name before, but did ot know anything further, just that the title made him very uneasy. Instead of answering either of Shuichi's questions, he dragged his drunk little baka out of the place and back to the hotel room. After a quick Google search, Yuki point blank refused to let his Shuichi anywhere near this 'pool party', ever.

There were several moments when they were among the throes of people celebrating and partying where Yuki had trouble keeping Shuichi attached to his hip. He worried constantly about Shuichi during these times. His extremely sociable and energetic lover was still so trusting around friendly groups of people, even after everything bad that had happened to him. It was almost as if Shuichi believed that other people would not try anything on him because they either know or found out that he is in a committed relationship.

Shuichi still had yet to learn that not everybody cares about other people's relationships if they can try to get something young and cute into their beds and that their 'nice conversations' were simply flirting. The happy young man would get into a conversation with another guy there and suddenly become surrounded by this guy's buddies being drifted off through the crowd. Shuichi's socialising nature never annoyed or upset Yuki; it was these bastards that kept hitting on his lover. After that Los Angeles invitation, Yuki had stomped into a sex shop and bought a wristband and collar that were attached to each other with a chain, after all they would be right at home wearing something like that at these places. He had considered handcuffs, but felt they did not give them adequate freedom of movement. Thankfully, the excessive flirting stopped as soon as the chain coming from Shuichi's collar and running to Yuki's wristband was spotted.

New York followed Montreal and Shuichi then started to notice that whenever Yuki was possessively by his side chain and all, much of the socialising slowed down. He realised that perhaps Yuki was right in that they were only trying to seduce him. On that understanding, Shuichi did not want to stay and they left the New York after-party shortly after arriving. When they got back to the hotel, Yuki had to spend an hour soothing Shuichi out of his mild state of depression after the teary-eyed vocalist asked him why people were like that.

Shuichi's faith in the human race was restored when they reached New Orleans and participated in the massive parade. Shuichi was ecstatic that word had come from Sydney about his costuming fun with Miss Minogue and he was invited on a float with a very sparkly and feathery costume (and in Yuki's opinion, far too revealing…in public anyway). Yuki was begged, pleaded, and puppy-dog-eyed with and finally gave into following the float on a horse with a couple of other riders, but there would be hell to pay if he had to wear a costume or in fact be at all active.

Yuki was glad to see Shuichi's smile renewed when they were both invited to a lounge area with a few other couples in one of the pubs. Shuichi had spoken with them about his Los Angeles, Montreal and New York experiences and received several knowing glances and nods. Shuichi enjoyed being allowed to curl into Yuki's lap when some other people joined the group and Yuki was able to hold a decent conversation about his novel with one of them.

With Europe still left to go, Yuki was itching for some straight contact; so many gay people in such a short time were too much and agreed to take Shuichi with him to a bar where he could still smoke having a scotch. Yuki shortly began to feel a need to put his arm around the bored, yet devoted, Shuichi and realised that he detested not having the freedom to do so. Yuki downed the rest of his third scotch, cut off his mind-numbing conversation with a man about his life, wife and son, took Shuichi by the hand and led him back to the hotel. The man he was conversing with blinked and asked the bartender, "He was like _that_?"

The waitress collecting drinks turned to him, "That cutie pie was Yuki Eiri. He ain't even twenty-five and he's made more cash than your whole family in their lifetimes, Sugar, he can afford to be how he likes."

The man looked like a deer caught in headlights and very confused, "But he was so normal…"

The waitress turned from the counter and stood next to him, "They generally are normal people, Honey, they just have sex differently."

Yuki thought he had seen everything there was to see in the world but he was quite mistaken when he hit Stockholm, followed by Amsterdam. Yuki found that the world truly was a frightening place and refused to let Shuichi out of his sight ever again when he found his lover downing a shot of green liquid. The queer who was caught by the scruff of the neck in Yuki's fist said that it was indeed absinthe and before Yuki could kill the little scumbag, Shuichi was wandering off muttering something about following a green fairy.

Europe had a tendency to have bars for every fetish in the book as well as a few that Yuki had never heard of, nor ever wanted to know about but now did. Shuichi, however, found the whole situation completely hilarious and took every opportunity he could to make his lover blush to all hell. He loved dropping hints against Yuki's sensitive ear about doing naughty things in public. The pink cheeks made the growling of his embarrassed lover just that much more adorable. Some of the teasing suggestions made Yuki wonder if Shuichi had been slipped some questionable brownies.

Both Yuki and Shuichi were too exhausted to attend the after party of the Frankfurt celebrations after coming direct from Copenhagen's daytime rights march that same day. Not that Yuki minded missing the foam party where every time the German word for 'free love' was spoken, they had to swap an item of clothing with another person. Definitely not his kind of party and never Shuichi's kind of party either for as long as Yuki had a say.

Milan and a new suitcase full of new designer clothing later, they were back in Paris. Yuki sighed relieved; they were back in nice, safe Paris. Paris also meant they only had London to go before they could go back home. Yuki also had a few things to discuss with one Claude Winchester. He was utterly convinced that man knew of some of the strange dealings that Yuki and Shuichi would encounter and had conspired with Mizuki accordingly.

Yuki did not understand it himself and narrowed it down to simply because they were in Paris, but there was a growing want to be more affectionate with Shuichi and not just when in the bedroom. He wanted to hold Shuichi to him while they walked down the streets all the time and not just occasionally, like he did when they were in Paris the first time, he wanted to share chaste kisses every time they met up somewhere and he wanted to be more than a lover only behind closed doors.

These feelings began to overwhelm him and frightened him to the point of phoning his Psychiatrist from the hotel room while Shuichi had gone down to a clothing store he had visited when they were in France earlier in the year. Yuki was lying back on the bed, thinking about what the half-asleep woman had droned on about when Shuichi bounced back into the room. Yuki watched Shuichi showcasing his purchases and when his mind had done enough mulling over his Psychiatrist's spot on observations, Yuki got up from the bed and pulled Shuichi into his arms. The new shorts Shuichi had in his hands fell to the floor forgotten about as he hugged Yuki in return and asked him what was wrong.

Yuki pulled back from the hug and looked down at Shuichi intently before softly smiling, "Nothing, absolutely nothing…not any more," before tenderly placing a kiss on Shuichi's lips.

Later that evening, between the glitter and array of flashing colours and dancing people, Shuichi practically glowed under the lights and looked simply stunning to the novelist, who was clearly more relaxed and at ease amongst the mass of people. Yuki had yet to release Shuichi's hand since they had arrived at the blazing after party. Shuichi was not quite sure what had sparked this change in his stoic lover, but he was not about to complain. Yuki stopped walking along the crowded street and tugged Shuichi into a deep kiss. It took Shuichi a moment to respond to the kiss, as he was shocked that Yuki was kissing him in such a teeming place. His amazement did not last long and he melted into passionate kiss as people continued to dance and sing around them.

Yuki returned home with an even deeper appreciation for Shuichi being by his side finding that he no longer wanted to be around people that were not willing to accept his lover as he is. No more pretending not to be a homosexual couple in public, no more standing apart watching firework displays in crowds, no more hiding their love away from the world and no more holding back his affection for his lover; Shuichi deserved better than that and Yuki now wanted to give it to him. He wanted to show Shuichi their world as it should be and the only beating Shuichi would ever receive again was that of the beating of their hearts.

* * *

END

I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this fic. The issue of homosexual tolerance is really important to me. I know many gay people and some of them have been better friends in times of need than those who claim to be my best friends. I feel that it is unfair for them to live in hiding or fear social retribution because they have sex a different way. So they have sex with the same gender. Their sexual orientations do not involve anyone else other than their partner and are therefore nobody else's business.

Unfortunately hate crimes are all too common in society and I hope this fic has brought some realisation of the impact that these crimes can have on people's lives. Openly hating because of differentiation has never laid a path to anything good and as history has shown, has lead to some horrible wars.

Lets aim for a world where we never have to see such horrible times ever again.


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